[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 223 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

  2d Session
S. RES. 223

      Designating March 8, 2002, as ``International Women's Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2002

    Mr. Biden (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Clinton, Ms. 
   Cantwell, Mr. Carper, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
 Feingold, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Breaux, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Schumer, 
Mr. Specter, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Snowe, Mrs. 
 Feinstein, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Bayh, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Lincoln, 
Mrs. Carnahan, Mr. Levin, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Murkowski, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Burns, 
    and Mr. Bingaman) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Designating March 8, 2002, as ``International Women's Day''.

Whereas all over the world women are contributing to the growth of economies, 
        participating in the world of diplomacy and politics, and improving the 
        quality of the lives of their families, communities, and nations;
Whereas discrimination continues to deny women full political and economic 
        equality and is often the basis for violations of women's basic human 
        rights;
Whereas worldwide the lives and health of women and girls continue to be 
        endangered by violence that is directed at them simply because they are 
        women;
Whereas worldwide violence against women includes rape, genital mutilation, 
        sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, honor killings, 
        sexual trafficking in women, dowry-related violence, female infanticide, 
        sex selection abortion, forced pregnancy, forced sterilization and 
        forced abortion;
Whereas worldwide at least 1 in 3 females has been beaten or sexually abused in 
        her lifetime;
Whereas 1 in 6 women in the United States has experienced an attempted or 
        completed sexual assault;
Whereas somewhere in the United States, a woman is battered, usually by her 
        intimate partner, every 15 seconds;
Whereas somewhere in the United States, a woman is raped every 90 seconds;
Whereas it is estimated that 1 in 5 adolescent girls in the United States 
        becomes a victim of physical or sexual abuse, or both, in a dating 
        relationship;
Whereas only 17 countries consider marital rape to be a criminal offense;
Whereas worldwide, women account for almost half of all cases of HIV/AIDS, 
        approximately 32,400,000, and in countries with high HIV prevalence, 
        young women are at a higher risk than young men of contracting HIV;
Whereas worldwide sexual violence, including marital rape, has been denounced as 
        a major cause of the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS among women;
Whereas \2/3\ of the world's 876,000,000 individuals who are illiterate are 
        women;
Whereas of the 125,000,000 school-aged children not in school all over the 
        world, \2/3\ are girls;
Whereas worldwide girls are less likely to complete school than boys;
Whereas in the United States, in the 3 decades since 1971, the educational 
        attainment rates of females has increased faster than those of males, 
        and by the year 2000, not only did females have higher rates of 
        completing high school and some college, but there were no differences 
        in the percentages of males and females with a bachelor's degree or 
        higher;
Whereas it is estimated that women and their children make up more than 70 
        percent of the 1,300,000,000 poorest people in the world;
Whereas worldwide, women remain vastly underrepresented in national and local 
        assemblies, accounting for less than 10 percent of the seats in 
        parliament, on average (except for East Asia where the figure is 
        approximately 18 to 19 percent), and in no developing region do women 
        hold more than 8 percent of the ministerial positions;
Whereas illegal trafficking worldwide for forced labor, domestic servitude, or 
        sexual exploitation involves between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 women and 
        children each year, of whom 50,000 are transported to the United States;
Whereas worldwide women still earn less, own less property, and have less access 
        to education, employment, and health care than do men;
Whereas March 8 has become known as International Women's Day for the last 
        century, and is a day on which people, often divided by ethnicity, 
        language, culture, and income, come together to celebrate a common 
        struggle for women's equality, justice, and peace;
Whereas the dedication and successes of those working all over the world to end 
        violence against women and girls and fighting for equality should be 
        recognized; and
Whereas the people of the United States should be encouraged to participate in 
        International Women's Day: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates March 8, 2002, as International Women's Day;
            (2) reaffirms its commitment--
                    (A) to ending discrimination and violence against 
                women;
                    (B) to ensuring the safety and welfare of women; 
                and
                    (C) to pursuing policies that guarantee the basic 
                rights of women both in the United States and in the 
                world; and
            (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
        calling upon the people of the United States to observe 
        ``International Women's Day'' with appropriate programs and 
        activities.
                                 <all>